Newbie Needs Help with VideoStudio 8 plss!!!

[antzpompeii]

Hi All

As this is my first post,,, pls be patient and gentle with me!

Ok - first of all i have a crappy Pentium 4 with just the standard Graphics Card - and 512MB Ram.

I have loads of tape of my newborn baby girl which i captured using a Sony DCR-HC21E Handycam.

The problem is that i only have a 40GB harddrive and what i want to do is copy my tape into Ulead VideoStudio and burn it onto a dvd so i can then delete it off my system and later on work with one dvd at a time... so i can make menus etc. 'make any sense?;

I want all my treasured footage burnt onto dvd so i can then later import it to Ulead so i can trim/put menus etc....

Does anyone know how i can do this? is Ulead VideoStudio capable of just burning the raw footage onto dvd so then i can import it back???

Your advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.
Antz

[Ken Berry]

There are one or two problems -- or perhaps better to say ' potential complications' about your proposed work flow. First, your camera is a mini-DV model. As such it films in a high quality format which can be directly transferred to your computer via Firewire/iLink without any loss of quality as DV/AVI format video. The first problem is that this takes up a lot of space: about 13 GB for one hour of video. But it is the highly desirable format for capturing from your camera in order to preserve the best quality image for later editing. However, to archive DV/AVI files on DVD would soon use up a lot of DVDs -- though of course it can be done.

The alternative, which quite a few people on this Board would advise strongly against (though the jury is out on it), would be to capture from your camera using DVD/mpeg-2 format. This produces much smaller files -- about 4Gb (or a bit more) per hour of video at a maximum bitrate of 8000 kbps. In other words, you would be able to store 1 DV tape's worth of video (or a bit more) on one DVD at that rate...

The downside is that many people say that the mpeg-2 format you would be capturing in is not really made for editing. While some people nevertheless do just this with some success, this is where the other -- and potentially large -- complication could come onto the stage in your case. If your computer is indeed 'crappy' -- by which I take it you mean it doesn't have a particularly powerful P4 processor -- then it just may not be up to the job of capturing direct to DVD/mpeg-2. This is a very demanding task for any computer, and you have to close down as many background processes as possible (including screensaver, anti-virus etc) to make sure your computer has enough grunt to capture. Even so, if indeed the CPU is fairly weak, then you are likely to have problems in being able to maintain a steady transfer rate; with the resultant likelihood of the capture becoming go-stop, and lots of frames dropped. Not desirable at all.

With hard disks -- including external hard disks -- having dropped enormously in price in recent times, the best solution would be to buy a large external hard drive or get a new internal drive installed in your computer, and capture using DV/AVI format to that...

[antzpompeii]

which can be directly transferred to your computer via Firewire/iLink without any loss of quality as DV/AVI format video.

I have a Firewire/iLink (it came with VideoStudio .

The first problem is that this takes up a lot of space: about 13 GB for one hour of video.

Yes - tell me about it! > though i've managed to capture my 30 min tape... it equates to 3GB (the capture settings was: MSDV-Sony and DVD Format.

But it is the highly desirable format for capturing from your camera in order to preserve the best quality image for later editing.

This is exactly what i want to do.... capture my video one by one and burn them onto DVD for later editing in SV8.

However, to archive DV/AVI files on DVD would soon use up a lot of DVDs -- though of course it can be done.

When you say 'archive DV/AVI files on DVD... why do they have to be burnt as AVI files? and not VOB files ie DVD?

The alternative, which quite a few people on this Board would advise strongly against (though the jury is out on it), would be to capture from your camera using DVD/mpeg-2 format. This produces much smaller files -- about 4Gb (or a bit more) per hour of video at a maximum bitrate of 8000 kbps. In other words, you would be able to store 1 DV tape's worth of video (or a bit more) on one DVD at that rate...

I think that this is what i've done..... right?

This is a very demanding task for any computer, and you have to close down as many background processes as possible (including screensaver, anti-virus etc) to make sure your computer has enough grunt to capture.

Yes I turn off all background processess and disconnect the internet as well.

Even so, if indeed the CPU is fairly weak, then you are likely to have problems in being able to maintain a steady transfer rate; with the resultant likelihood of the capture becoming go-stop, and lots of frames dropped. Not desirable at all.

[heinz-oz]

Hi there and welcome to this board.

From your questions I can gather that you want your cake and eat it but that ain't going to happen.

We understand that you are new to this and the way you ask your questions shows that you don't know much about the very subject you want to conquer. Don't despair, with a bit of understanding from your end as well as ours, we should get you there.

Having said all that, let me start you off like this:

1. VS does not come with a firewire link. The link is hardware, VS is software. Or did you mean to say that you bought yourself a PCI firewire card and that came bundled with VS?

2. DV-AVI is a lossles compression format which gives you excellent quality, as good as the original on your tape. That's exactly why the file size is about 13 GB per hour of video. If you capture to DVD standard, you are in fact capturing to mpeg2, a lossy compression format that will still give you very good looking video but when you edit this and save it again it will get compressed again, loosing a lot of quality.

3. VOB files are DVD files with mpeg2 compression. The same applies as for point 2

4. In order to capture to mpeg2 format, unless you have an expensive capture device with hardware encoding to mpeg, your "crappy P4" may be strained to keep up with this although you claim to have captured about 30 minutes of a clip doing this. That would indicate that your system may not be as crappy as you think. Please fill in your system details in your profile to enable us to give you some more meaningful advice.

To come to a conclusion here, If you are serious about this, you will need to invest a bit of money to get your system better suited. You need at least one bigger HDD to seriously look at this. With your 40 GB you are pushing a string. How much is actually free on that one?

Don't be shy and come back here if you want to persue this.

[Ken Berry]

You asked me: " When you say 'archive DV/AVI files on DVD... why do they have to be burnt as AVI files? and not VOB files ie DVD? " Well, in your first post, you didn't say you had in fact done anything yet, but now I guess we know you have... If you just want to store your DV for later editing, as I said in my post, the best quality option is to keep it as DV and the only way to keep this yet have it on DVD is to archive it as DV files. Just downloading it (i.e. capturing it as DV), then doing no editing, but burning it to disc as a video DVD (i.e. Share > Create File or Share > Create Disc) means you are rendering the original DV i.e. converting it from DV format to DVD-compatible mpeg-2 format, and thus reducing its original quality.

If you then later re-load the video from such a DVD, then do your edits, quite apart from whether or not editing mpeg-2 is advisable, you will have to re-render it all again at the end of your project, thus further degrading the quality.

Mind you, there are again those who say that only one or two re-renders of mpeg-2 will not make any real difference i.e. detectable to the naked eye, particularly if you keep the quality high (i.e. a high bitrate).

And just a footnote, in case you are wondering -- the .vob files on a burned DVD are in effect mpeg-2 files just with a different extension. (EDIT: but I now see my friend Heinz has beaten me to this particular punch!!! )

[antzpompeii]

Or did you mean to say that you bought yourself a PCI firewire card and that came bundled with VS?

Yes thats exactly what i meant.

2.

DV-AVI is a lossles compression format which gives you excellent quality,

If you capture to DVD standard, you are in fact capturing to mpeg2, a lossy compression format

I'm taking note on this... thank-you - I did not know.

3. VOB files are DVD files with mpeg2 compression. The same applies as for point 2

Got it.

4. In order to capture to mpeg2 format, unless you have an expensive capture device with hardware encoding to mpeg, your "crappy P4" may be strained to keep up with this although you claim to have captured about 30 minutes of a clip doing this. That would indicate that your system may not be as crappy as you think. Please fill in your system details in your profile to enable us to give you some more meaningful advice.

Ok - I've definately captured mpeg2 format... though i don't understand what you mean by expensive capture device with hardware encoding to mpeg?
I think my PC is crap due to the fact that its a Dell!!!! and don't have much HDD space... though i will definately be looking at buying one soon.

By the way i've updated my details on my profile.

How much is actually free on that one?

Approximately 33GB.

Don't be shy and come back here if you want to persue this.

Definately not shy - i sooooo want to learn.. as i've said before i am a new mum and would love to keep my babies memories on DVD for when she grows up.

By the way thank-you very very much for your help here.

Regards
Antz

[/quote]

[antzpompeii]

If you just want to store your DV for later editing, as I said in my post, the best quality option is to keep it as DV and the only way to keep this yet have it on DVD is to archive it as DV files.

Just downloading it (i.e. capturing it as DV), then doing no editing, but burning it to disc as a video DVD (i.e. Share > Create File or Share > Create Disc) means you are rendering the original DV i.e. converting it from DV format to DVD-compatible mpeg-2 format, and thus reducing its original quality.

I understand now.... but is there any other way of keeping the original DV/AVI files without loosing its original quality? Whatabout capturing in DV/AVI format and then burning it with Nero as data onto a DVD? How do ppl do it? i'm sure if you have 5 tapes of 30 min each,,, you're not going to save them all onto the HDD and then edit.... this is why i just want to free up some of my tapes and do the editing later on. (is this possible)?

If you then later re-load the video from such a DVD, then do your edits, quite apart from whether or not editing mpeg-2 is advisable, you will have to re-render it all again at the end of your project, thus further degrading the quality.

I sooo don't want to do this then.

And just a footnote, in case you are wondering -- the .vob files on a burned DVD are in effect mpeg-2 files just with a different extension. (EDIT: but I now see my friend Heinz has beaten me to this particular punch!!! )

Yep just read it myself.... very helpful man he is too.

[harperv]

what videocamera are you using

[antzpompeii]

what videocamera are you using

I'm using Sony DCR-HC21E Handycam

[antzpompeii]

Ok - just thought i'd report back as i've been fiddling around a bit with VS....

Just wondering,,,, if i was to capture DV/AVI and then save the project file onto DVD? = then when i have the time i can open the project and edit the movie........ will that work? all i want to do is just capture all my video's and save them onto media until i have enough time to edit all the movies.... in the meantime i can free up some tapes so i can keep recording....

Any suggestions?

Thanks
Antz

[Ken Berry]

One thing puzzles me. If you are not going to do your editing immediately, then what is the rush in capturing all your DV footage immediately? Why not just keep your existing DV cassettes, and only capture from each cassette when you are going to edit that one or two...? DV cassettes may not have as long a life as DVDs may (though who knows?). But they will certainly last more than long enough for you to progressively work your way through your projects.

My earlier suggestion about archiving to DVD but using the DV format could still apply -- though it really is a longer term solution. But as I said in that earlier post, you would use up quite a few DVDs doing it. While the price of DVDs these days has fallen dramatically for single layer discs, the price of DV cassettes is also not too high. Why not just buy more DV cassettes for your future work, and keep what you have already used in storage until needed for capturing and editing.

If you do decide to burn archive DVDs, then you will need to cut your DV captures into 4.3 GB pieces, and then you simply choose the 'Make Data DVD' in Nero. You then select one of your 4.3 GB files, make sure Nero knows which is your DVD burner, then click on the burning icon. Simple. As you would probably realise, though, you cannot play such discs as you would a DVD in a stand-alone DVD player connected to your TV. They are strictly data storage, and are really only to be used in your computer. The files should, of course, play in a computer software media player which can play DV/AVI format.

As for buring your VS project files i.e. the .vsp, to DVD, that would achieve exactly nada, rien, zilch!!! If you look at a project file, you will see it is in fact tiny. It is really not much more than a road map for Video Studio to know what video files were included in the project, where they are stored on the computer, and what was done to them by way of editing. But they don't contain the actual video files themselves...

[heinz-oz]

That's exactly what I would do, as a matter of fact, I'm doing it

I'm a lot quicker taping it than editing it

Most have about 60 tapes. I keep all my original footage on the tapes, even after I burned the complete version to disc.

[antzpompeii]

Thanks once again,,,,

Yes i think i will go out and buy some more tapes....

Regards,
Antz

[heinz-oz]

Ken Berry wrote

...... While the price of DVDs these days has fallen dramatically for single layer discs, the price of DV cassettes is also not too high. Why not just buy more DV cassettes for your future work, and keep what you have already used in storage until needed for capturing and editing.

That's exactly what I would do, as a matter of fact, I'm doing it

I'm a lot quicker taping it than editing it

Most have about 60 tapes. I keep all my original footage on the tapes, even after I burned the complete version to disc.